People cook food beside their damaged house following rains and floods during Pakistan’s monsoon season at Jafarabad, about 400 km north of Hyderabad, on Aug. 28, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Amer Hussain)

Produce prices spike in flood-hit Pakistan as food crisis looms

Flooding wrecks crops, hampers logistics

Lahore | Reuters — Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains ruin crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of financial crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices up

A lupin test plot at the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation site at Roblin.

Lupin variety shows promise

Could be used for livestock feed, human consumption

James Frey of the Parklands Crop Diversification Foundation points at a stand of low-growing plants in a test plot south of Roblin. It’s a legume with potential as a feed crop for humans and livestock. “This is a variety called the blue lupin,” he said. “It falls out on the same lines with faba beans,


File photo of a rainy day in Iqaluit. (Wildnerdpix/iStock/Getty Images)

Cold and hungry: Food inflation bites Canada’s North

'It's really expensive to do business here'

Iqaluit | Reuters –– In Canada’s remote North, residents have long paid dearly for food, and rising prices have worsened an already dire situation, exposing the vulnerability of one of the world’s biggest exporters of grains and meat. Communities in Nunavut — the largest of the three territories that make up Canada’s northernmost region —

Black soldier fly larvae a few days from processing size.

VIDEO: Lord of the flies: The promise of sustainable protein in fly larvae

Danish firm sees enormous potential in black soldier fly larvae for feed and oil

A mass of writhing maggots feasting on decomposing organic matter isn’t the most appetizing mental image. In fact, for most people, the role of the fly in the circle of life is probably best not thought of while eating. But for one Danish firm, the black soldier fly belongs in the food system and is


File photo of tea plantations in Sri Lanka. (Dmitrii Anikin/iStock/Getty Images)

Rajapaksa dynasty draws to humiliating close in Sri Lanka

Food shortages, fertilizer ban among flashpoints

Colombo | Reuters — The Rajapaksa dynasty dominated Sri Lankan politics until April when street protests against fuel and food shortages began to slip out of control. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, leaving no one from the once-illustrious family in a position of power. The president vowed last month to stay

Internally displaced Ethiopians queue to receive food aid in the Higlo camp for people displaced by drought, at the town of Gode in Ethiopia’s Somali region on April 26, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Activists pan G7 pledge to fight global hunger

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked fears of hunger and malnutrition

Activists sharply criticized a pledge by the Group of Seven rich countries on June 28 to commit US$4.5 billion to fight global hunger, saying the sum fell short of what was needed with millions of people on the brink of starvation. The worst drought in decades in parts of Africa and soaring food prices, driven


brazil pineapple

Comment: The world’s inefficient food web

The world’s affluent must start eating local food to tackle the climate crisis, new research shows

The desire by people in richer countries for a diverse range of out-of-season produce imported from overseas is driving up global greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found. It reveals how transporting food across and between countries generates almost one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector – and affluent countries make a disproportionately

hydroponic lettuce

OCN’s Smart Farm is a source of physical and mental health

A computer-controlled farm, on-site research and fresh produce are providing ways to combat diabetes in this northern community

It sits behind the wall that holds the community centre’s bingo board — and its name is Bertha. This ‘Smart Farm’ is Stephanie Cook’s domain on Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), more than 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. After more than six years of farming, Cook can walk into the room and smell if something is


As Peak of the Market reinvents itself as a private company, the Co-operator takes a look at the colourful history of the sector.

From Peak to obsolete

Peak of the Market’s monopoly began with protests, newspaper wars and threats of violence. It ended with near silence

In the embryonic days of Peak of the Market, Wally Kroeker recalls a farmer threatening to thrash his dad. His father, Walter, was a staunch proponent of orderly marketing for his potatoes and vegetables. The other farmer was not. “My dad was a pretty conservative guy,” Kroeker said. “Some people could never understand why a

An original proposal by Health Canada to label ground beef as high in saturated fat has been shelved.  Photo: Jeff Haynes/Reuters

Health Canada to slap warning labels on sugary, salty and fatty foods

Ottawa | Reuters – Foods high in sugars, sodium and saturated fat will come with clear warning labels in Canada starting in 2026, the federal government said on Thursday, in an effort to promote healthier eating choices and reduce chronic health risks. “We know that it’s not always easy to make healthy choices,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told